Waxing Moonlight
by Ryou-Ran
Summary: Ryou receives a call for help from Yami Bakura's Soulroom, and it was not his Yami that had called him. It came from Moonlight and he badly needs Ryou's help, or he will be destroyed...
1. Default Chapter

A story with Ryou and Moonlight Bakura as the mains! Moonlight somehow ends up in Yami Bakura's soulroom. Yami Bakura knows Shadow Souls like Moonlight are immortal and finds it fun to hunt Moonlight down, kill him and go after him again as soon as he has revived himself again. But killing a Shadow Soul is not as harmless as it may seem like...

Ryou-Ran: Well, it took us lots of glue, but Yami Bakura is completely himself again.

Ryou: Yes. Living together with one Yami is bad enough, but having to live together with a thousand little Yamis would be terrible.

Moonlight: So I am going to be killed in this story?

Ryou-Ran: Yes, more than once.

Ryou: And what about me?

Ryou-Ran: I won't tell. That would reveal too much.

Yami Bakura: And me?

Ryou-Ran: Am I going to kill Ryou?

Yami Bakura: You don't know yet.

Ryou-Ran: There.

Yami Bakura: ?

Ryou-Ran: Moonlight, you do the disclaimer.

Moonlight: (takes deep breath)

Ryou-Ran: In English, please.

Moonlight: Ryou-Ran does not own Yu-Gi-Oh! **AAAARGH!**

Ryou: Moonlight! What's wrong?!

Moonlight: Nothing, I thought I should just practice. (big grin)

Everybody: --"

Waxing Moon(light)

Moonlight Bakura slowly opened his eyes. He found himself lying on the floor. A strange floor. He looked up and saw he was not in his Shadow Soulroom in Ryou Bakura's mind any more. He was inside a Soulroom he could vaguely recognise. He could feel himself being surrounded by darkness.

He got up and took a look around. He could see a black sky and grey sand. About thirty meters away from him could see someone sitting crossed-legged on the floor. When he sneaked closer he saw the white hair of the person. It was sticking in all directions. When the boy the hair belonged to yawned Moonlight could see his teeth, long and sharp. The person sitting in front of him was a Yami. Yami Bakura. Moonlight was shocked to find out he was inside Yami Bakura's soulroom.

Yami Bakura closed his mouth again and suddenly looked in Moonlight's direction. Moonlight was startled and quickly hid behind a rock. Too late, Yami Bakura had seen him already. He strolled over to the rock and climbed on top of it. When he looked down he looked right in Moonlight's shocked face. "Well well, what do we have here?"he asked. The next moment his hand shot out faster than the tongue of a snake and grabbed Moonlight's throat. Moonlight uttered a suffocating sound as the Yami squeezed his throat shut. He grabbed Yami Bakura's arm and tried to pull it away, but Yami Bakura was just as strong as him. With his free hand he lashed out and hit the choking soul in the face. Moonlight tried to pry Yami Bakura's fingers off. Yami Bakura became a vague spot. Moonlight's eyes turned away. Just before he lost consciousness he used his dark powers to warn his reincarnation.

Ryou was walking over the street with Yugi and Téa. They were chatting happily about the new sets of cards that would arrive at the toy-shop later that day.

Suddenly Ryou felt a pang in the chest. He uttered a moan and rubbed his chestbone with his hand. He could feel the Millennium Ring under his clothes.

"What is it, Bakura-Kun?"Yugi asked. Ryou leaned against the wall. "I don't know."he said. "I feel... dizzy." He almost fell and Téa grabbed his arm to keep him on his feet. Ryou had a vacant look in his eyes. He looked at something Yugi and Tea could not see.

Moonlight's face appeared in front of him. Ryou could see the pale claw that had wrapped it's fingers around Moonlight's neck. Moonlight's eyes were closed, but suddenly he opened them and looked at Ryou. "Ryou... help..."he rasped. His face vanished. Ryou woke up with a start. He tilted his head and looked at Téa and Yugi. "What is it?"Téa asked. Ryou frowned and looked at his hands. "It was Moonlight Bakura."he said. "Moonlight Bakura?"Yugi asked. "What did he tell you?" Ryou looked up. "He's in danger. He called for help."he said. "What?"Yugi asked. "What's wrong?" Ryou pulled the Millennium Ring out of his shirt. He showed it to his friends. "It has to do something with Yami Bakura."he said. "But... but I don't know how I could ever help him." His looks saddened.

That night Ryou was alone in his flat. He had made himself dinner and was puzzling his head off. Moonlight needed his help, but Ryou did not know how he could possibly help him. He knew the Shadow Soul was inside Yami Bakura's soulroom, but he did not know how to get there. He wasn't even able to go to his own soulroom by himself. He could only go there if his Yami called him. But Yami Bakura would not allow Ryou to go over to his soulroom and help Moonlight. He finished his rice with his chopsticks and shoved the bowl away. He was not hungry any more. He decided to go to bed early.

He caught sleep easily, but wished he hadn't done that. He was having nightmares. The dreams were sent by Moonlight, in a desperate attempt to attract Ryou's attention. Moonlight used his powers to show the Japanese boy what was going on. Ryou could see everything the evil Yami did to him.

Moonlight was running through Yami Bakura's soulroom. He passed rocks and dead trees. Behind him he could hear the footsteps of the ancient Spirit that was hunting him down. "Why don't you stop running?"the voice of the Yami sounded. "You could give up as well! I am going to get you anyway!" He didn't even sound a _little _tired. Moonlight's breath came in pants as he continued running. "I... won't... give... up!"he shouted back. The next moment he tripped over a rock and fell hard on his knee. "Ow!"he cried, thus revealing his position to Yami Bakura. He looked at his knee. It was bruised and there was a little cut in it. He tried to get up, but his knee hurt too much.

He heard something crack behind him and saw the skinny form of Yami Bakura appear. He tried to crawl away from him, but the Yami grabbed him by the hair. "You know the good thing about fighting a Shadow Soul?"he hissed. He lashed out with his hand and broke Moonlight's neck. Moonlight fell to the floor with a soft sigh. A bit of bloody foam appeared on his lips. "Shadow Souls keep coming back, no matter how often you kill them."Yami Bakura said. Moonlight Bakura stirred and got up again. His knee had healed. The foam had vanished. He ran away again. Yami Bakura gave him a headstart and then went after him again, laughing out loud.

Moonlight's eyes began to glow a blue light. "Please, Ryou!"he cried. "Help me! I need your help!"

Ryou woke up with a start. A cry escaped his mouth. He could still see the face of the Shadow Soul in front of his face. It was not fair. The Shadow Realm being Yami Bakura's soulroom gave the Yami an advantage. Moonlight was weakened by the powers of the Shadow Realm. He could not use the powers of darkness he held, because they were immediately absorbed by the Shadow Realm. He wanted to help Moonlight so badly, but he did not know how, he did not know how...

When he went to school the next morning Téa and Yugi were waiting for him in front of his appartement. "Yugi? Téa? What are you doing here?"he asked. "We wondered if you had heard anything of Moonlight Bakura again."Yugi said. He noticed Ryou didn't look so well. He had bags under his eyes and his hair was almost grey in stead of white. "And now I wonder how _you_ are doing too." Ryou picked up his bag. "Tonight I had a dream."he said. "I saw Yami Bakura chase Moonlight, kill him, wait until Moonlight had revived himself again and then he went after him again." Téa looked shocked. "Moonlight can't stand it much longer."Ryou sadly said. "He keeps _begging_ me to help him, but I don't know _how_ I could ever help him! This is killing me!" Yugi lay a hand on his arm. "My Yami may be able to help you and Moonlight."he said. Ryou looked at him. Hope glistened in his brown eyes. "Yes?"he asked. "He is?" Yugi smiled reassuringly. "I'm sure Yami will do anything to help you."he said. "He loves to help people." Ryou smiled vaguely. "_Hang on, Moonlight._"he thought. "_Help is on it's way._"

Moonlight had hidden in a small cave. He barely fitted in there. He hoped very much Yami Bakura would not find him. He was a part of Ryou's soul, so he heard Ryou's thoughts about Yami. He felt hope grow in his heart. The Pharaoh would be able to help him for sure!

Then a white flash enveloped him. Moonlight screamed in fear and pain. He could just hear the cold laugh of Yami Bakura before he fell into oblivion.

* * *

That's how "Mindcrusher" is called in Dutch. Simply "oblivion".

Today I went to acting classes for the first time and the last thing I had to do was dying tragically. I can do lots of things, but I cannot die tragically, I found out this morning. We had to walk through the room with our eyes closed and the teacher would pat the one supposed to die tragically on the shoulder. Some really died tragically, but some others screwed up. I wanted to do _anything_ but dying tragically.

Moonlight: Oh, I'm good at dying tragically! AAAAAAARGHLLL! (dies tragically)

Ryou: So am I! (our Ryou really is)

Yami Bakura: (is cocky) I laughed when I died.

Ryou-Ran: That's not tragical.

Yami Bakura: But I'm not tragic.

Ryou-Ran: Ooh, but being yourself must be a _biiig_ tragedy!

Yami Bakura: -- (is pissed)

Moonlight: (gets up) Was it good?

Ryou-Ran: Very.

Please review.


	2. Wherever is light, there are shadows

Man, I really need more reviews... I can't continue writing chapters for just one reviewer... Thanks, Hikari. You reviewed. I'll go on about the eggs in my fic 'Ra's Black Book".

Ryou-Ran: (wipes her forehead) Phew, I finally got rid of that!

Ryou: Rid of what?

Ryou-Ran: I had to write a story about my vacation.

Ryou: But that's not so bad.

Ryou-Ran: I had to do it in French.

Ryou: Oh.

Moonlight: (sees a mirror) Hey, what do we have here? (sees his own face) WAAH! Who's that?!

Ryou: That yourself, Moonlight.

Moonlight: Me? But I'm standing right here! I'm not inside that whatever!

Ryou-Ran: That's a mirror. You can see your own reflection in it.

Moonlight: (looks at himself) I did not know I was such a handsome guy. (goes to stand in a body-builder pose)

Ryou & Ryou-Ran: --"

Ryou-Ran: This fic has been locked up inside my laptop for a week, let's do the disclaimer and get over with it.

Moonlight: Ryou-Ran does not own Yu-Gi-Oh! Look, the disclaimer has got an infection too!

Ryou-Ran: A _re_flection.

Wherever is light, there are Shadows

After school Ryou went with Yugi and the rest to the toy-shop. Ryou hadn't heard of Moonlight during school. He almost hoped Moonlight would contact him again, even though it hurt him when he was called. He wanted to help the Shadow Soul. Moonlight was over and over killed again. The pain that it caused had to be driving him crazy.

They all greeted Grandpa Muto and went to Yugi's room. When they were upstairs Yami came out of the Puzzle. "Bakura, tell me what is going on."he almost chanted. Ryou told him about Moonlight and that the Yami was hunting him down just for fun. "This night he cried he could not stand it any more."Ryou concluded his story. "I don't know... What if he becomes crazy, or something?" Yami cupped his chin in his hand. "Hm..."he said, appareantly receiving a gigantic burst of inspiration. "I do not know much about Shadow Souls... But one that loses his mind will cease to exist." Ryou's jaw bounced against the floor. "You mean... but Moonlight... I thought he was..."he stammered. Yami understood him. "Shadow Souls are immortal, but if they lose control they will disappear. A Shadow Soul that goes insane may start to destroy everything on it's way. They cannot be killed and that way, stopped. That is why they just stop existing when they go..."he said, but had run out of synonymes for the word "insane". "Bananas."a helpful Joey said. Yami looked at him strangely. "Bananas?"he asked. "_I'll explain to you later, Yami._"he heard Yugi say from the Millennium Puzzle.

Moonlight ran and ran. He had ran more than an athlete the past two days. The Yami chasing him never seemed to get tired. Moonlight, on the other hand, did. His whole body ached. Resurrecting himself took much of his energy away. He wanted to lie down and sleep for a while so badly, but Yami Bakura would not allow him to sleep. Moonlight saw a small cave he had missed before. He forced himself in and used his dark powers to make shadows fill the cave and make him invisible for a while to the Yami. He heard footsteps outside the cave. He saw Yami Bakura look inside, decide there was nothing in it and go on. Moonlight let out a shivering sigh. Only Ryou and the Pharaoh could help him. Again he concentrated on Ryou's mind.

"Oh..."Ryou suddenly uttered and grabbed his forehead. He saw the image of Moonlight sitting inside the cave. He saw the face of his friend was covered with dust and sweat. "_Hurry, Ryou!_"the Shadow Soul softly cried. "_Hurry, before it's too late!_" The image disappeared again. Ryou felt strange, like a part of his energy was gone. He began to sway a bit. "Bakura-Kun, what is it?"Tristan asked, worried. Ryou felt a little sick. He saw blacks spots hover in front of his face. "I... feel...strange."he said, his voice sounding unstable. "I think I am going to... faint..." At that moment he collapsed.

"GRANDPA!"Téa screamed. "BAKURA BLACKED OUT!" Half a second later Solomon Muto burst inside. He looked at the people standing in the room, at the boy on the floor. He knelt down besides Ryou and, without hesitating, took Ryou's Ring off. He grabbed Ryou's uniform-jacket, folded it up and lay it under Ryou's head. He then left and came back with a glass of water. He wet Ryou's wrists and waited for him to wake up. Ryou sighed and stirred. "Come on, Bakura."Solomon said. Ryou opened his eyes. "What happened?"he weakly asked. Yami smiled a bit, relieved. "You blacked out."Joey said. "All of a sudden." Ryou rubbed his forehead. His memories slowly came back. His eyes were filled with panick. "Moonlight!"he cried. "It was Moonlight again! He really needs our help! We must help him, Yami!" He grabbed Yami's arm. "You _must_ help us!" Yami took Ryou's hand in his. "I will help you."he said. "I will do anything to help my friends." Ryou said nothing, but just nodded.

Later that afternoon he went back to his apartment again. Yami would help him contact Moonlight the next day.

The strange thing was that he felt weak, really weak. He was dead-beat and was not hungry. He knew he had to eat something, but the smell of food made him feel sick already. He took his sneakers off and slumped down on a chair. Hanging in front of it was a mirror. When he looked at his reflection he saw how terrible he looked. His face was almost yellow and his hair was greyish. He had bags under his eyes. How could he ever help Moonlight when he was in a condition like this?

Moonlight slept in his cave. Not being able to find him was a bummer for Yami Bakura, who had gone asleep too. He woke up sooner than the exhausted Moonlight and went to look for him again. What Moonlight had forgotten was that Yami Bakura could use his Millennium Ring for finding him. The Yami activated the Ring and looked at the pointers. One of them pointed at his right. Yami Bakura looked at the big rocks and grinned. He would find Moonlight easily.

Moonlight was still curled up like a cat when the Yami found him. Yami Bakura looked at the silent Shadow Soul with a smile on his cruel face. Moonlight looked so defenseless, lying there like that. He looked incredibly much like his Yadonushi. Yami Bakura grabbed Moonlight's long hair and tugged it. "WAKE UP!"he shouted, as Moonlight cried out in shock. "The hunt continues!" Moonlight tried to fire a bolt of dark energy, but it did barely harm the evil Spirit standing before him. Yami Bakura fired an attack that sent Moonlight sprawling. The Egyptian soul tried to get up again, but immediately Yami Bakura shot him in the back with his Millennium Ring. Moonlight moaned. He curled himself up and tried to roll away. Yami Bakura was at his side with one leap and kicked him over to the other side. He played soccer with the innocent Shadow Soul until it bored him and allowed him to run away. Moonlight scrambled up. Golden blood came from the corners of his mouth and his nose. He was covered with bruises. The skirt he wore was torn. His hair was a mess. Far away he could see a big door. The door of Yami Bakura's soulroom. If he could get out of the room, enter Ryou's and lock the door he would be safe. He began to walk in the direction of the gate.

After an hour of stumbling, falling and getting up again he reached the door. He leaned against it, trying to regain his energy. When he thought he had gathered enough energy he tried to open it. It wouldn't move an inch, let alone far enough to let Moonlight's wiry body through. He ran into it with his shoulder, but it would not open. A scream of pure frustration escaped Moonlight's mouth. He began to punch with his fists into the door and scratched over it with his sharp, pointy bracelets in a desperate atempt to open it. Tears of fear ran down his cheeks as he could hear the laughter of the Yami that kept him imprisoned coming closer. "OPEN UP! PLEASE!"Moonlight screamed, his voice sounding high and reedy. "RYOOOOUUUU! HELP ME! PLEASE, RYOU!"

A sharp pain went through Ryou's chest. He dropped the book he had been trying to read, bent over and moaned. Drops of sweat appeared on his forehead. He saw the image of Moonlight in front of him. He saw Moonlight trying to claw his way through the door with his bracelets. He heard him cry for help. He saw the tears on the copper-colored cheeks, the fear in the eyes, the dusty hair. He heard his Yami laugh. He saw him close in on Moonlight. He saw sparks fly from his face every time Moonlight hit the door with his bracelets. He saw Moonlight spun around. He saw Yami Bakura lash out at the immortal soul with a knife. He heard Moonlight scream as the knife cut through skin, flesh and ribs and hit his heart.

Ryou screamed too, a scream that could not be heard by anybody. He fell down face-first. He was unconscious before he even hit the floor. He was alone, helpless in his flat. Nobody would see him lying there, nobody would help him.

The next morning Yugi appeared at school and was surprised to notice Ryou wasn't there yet. Ryou was usually a few minutes early. He saw Tristan come in his direction. "Bakura isn't at school yet."he said. "I'm worried about him." Tristan rubbed his chin. "Perhaps we should call him."he said. "There's Téa. She's got a mobile-phone." They decided to wait and see if Ryou would show up later that day. But Ryou did not show up. Yugi went to ask the teacher if he had called in sick. The teacher had to deny that. "I haven't heard of him."she said. "Strange. He is such a polite boy, surely he would call us if he had gone sick." Yugi's purple eyes widened. "Perhaps he is sick.... and not able to call!"he cried. "Ma'am, I want to call him! Can I call him?" The teacher thought about it and then nodded. Yugi borrowed Téa's phone and dialed Ryou's number.

In Ryou's flat the phone rang. The penetrating sound woke Ryou up. He slowly opened his eyes and tried to remember what sound it was. When he recognised it he tried to get up, but he was too weak. He crawled over to the table the phone was on and actually threw the device to the floor. He picked it up and held it close to his ear.

Yugi had set the phone on "hands-free" so everybody could listen. His heart made a little leap when he heard a hoars voice say "Ba-bakura." "Bakura! It's Yugi!"Yugi shouted in the horn. "Why aren't you at school?" It was silent on the other side of the line for a while. Then they heard Ryou say: "Yesterday... Moonlight called. I passed out." His voice sounded weak and low of hidden pain. "Moonlight called you?"Yugi asked. "He did? How is he doing?" He could hear Ryou's shivering breath at the other side of the line. "He... I... No! Not again! Moonli-AAAH!"Ryou screamed. They could hear the phone clatter to the floor and then a slump, like something heavier had fallen too. "Bakura?"Yugi cried. "BAKURA!" It remained silent. Yugi turned the phone off. "One of has to go to Bakura's flat and help him."he said. Joey volunteered. The rest looked at him as he ran away.

Joey ran as fast as he could. Ryou had given Yugi, who was the center of the gang, a key of his flat, so he could come in if something was wrong. Now something _was_ wrong, so Yugi had given Joey the key so he could get in. Joey took the stairs and rushed to Ryou's flat. He opened the door with the key and went inside. He checked every room and finally found Ryou in the livingroom. The Japanese boy was lying on his side. He had torn his shirt so the Millennium Ring was exposed. Joey turned him to his back and slapped him in the face. Ryou sighed, but did not wake up. Joey picked him up and lay him on a couch and went to call Yugi.

The sound of the phone shocked Yugi so badly that he dropped it. He picked it up, saw Ryou's number and held it by his ear. "Joey? How's Bakura?"he blurted. "Not so well."he heard Joey say. "He won't wake up and he's being delirious. NO, BAKURA! _ON_ THE COUCH!" Yugi could hear something that sounded like a struggle and then Joey was back. "He suddenly leapt up."he said. "He thought I was Yami Bakura." "How did you calm him down?"Yugi asked. It took a while before Joey's anwer came. "Uh... let's say a good shot on the temple does the trick."he stuttered. Yugi almost dropped the phone again. "YOU KNOCKED HIM OUT?!"he screamed in the horn. On the background he could Ryou groan. "Man, he was going completely crazy! He would have busted this whole place and me too if I hadn't stopped him!"Joey pleaded. "I'll come over with Yami as soon as possible."a furious Yugi growled and ended contact. He gave the phone back to Téa. "You heard what he did?"he asked. "He knocked Bakura out! He just hit him! The boy is sick already and then someones gives him a blow too!"

"_We should hurry, Yugi._"Yami, who had been listening, said. "_This means Moonlight Bakura is falling apart. And Bakura's soul seems to be weakened every time Yami Bakura kills Moonlight. If we don't help Moonlight soon, both he and Bakura can be in danger."_

* * *

Ryou: Yes, I blacked out again. I black out in every story.

Ryou-Ran: Of course, people love that.

Moonlight: (sceptical) They love blacking out?

Ryou-Ran: --" No, they love it when Ryou blacks out.

Moonlight: Why would they?

Ryou-Ran: They love to see their hero, in this case: antihero, pass out.

Ryou: Hey!

Ryou-Ran: Sorry.

Pleeeeeaaaaassssseeeee review!


	3. White Magic User Ryou?

I'm so glad! Beyblade is back and Kai too! Kai's got Ryou's voice (but lower and more arrogant)... and I'm completely addicted to the voice of our Dutch Ryou. I counted almost seventy Ryou's here... though there are only fifteen of them on TV right now.

Moonlight: (leers at Joey)

Ryou-Ran: What's the problem, Moonlight?

Moonlight: Grrr...

Ryou: He's angry because Joey hit me.

Moonlight: Grr grr!

Ryou-Ran: But Moonlight, that was just in the fic!

Moonlight: Gr?

Ryou-Ran: Gr no.

Moonlight: Ah.

Ryou: And who is going to be killed in this chapter?

Ryou-Ran: Who do you think? (glances at Moonlight)

Moonlight: ?

Ryou: Oh.

Ryou-Ran: Who's going to do the disclaimer?

Yami Bakura: I am! Ahem: Ryou-Ran does not own Ryou, Yugi, Yami, me, White Magic User Bak-

Ryou-Ran: (death-glare)

Yami Bakura: OO" Uhh... to make a long story a short one: She does not ow Yu-Gi-Oh!

Ryou-Ran: Yes, but I _do_ own Moonlight. I created him all by myself.

White Magic User Ryou?

Yugi and the rest were allowed to leave early to go to Ryou's. When they arrived there they saw Joey, who was cleaning up a bit and they saw Ryou had come around and was asking Joey "Please not to clean up, because he had not made the mess". Joey more or less ignored him and went on cleaning. When Ryou saw Yugi come in he smiled, relieved. "Yugi! I'm so glad you're here."he said.

Yami came out and listened to Ryou's story. "He was completely desperate!"Ryou said. "He clawed with his bracelets in the door and he cried. I don't think he will stay sane much longer." Yami had constantly looked in Ryou's eyes. "I will help you, Bakura."he said in his mystical way. "I will try to send your soul to your Soulroom. From there you can get inside the Millennium Ring and Yami Bakura's soulroom. I cannot do more for you. You must find out for yourself what you have to do in order to save your friend. But there is a danger too." He saw Ryou strain his muscles. "If something goes wrong and your soul gets killed you will go to the Shadow Realm. And you know Yami Bakura will not be willing to bring you back."Yami said. He paused for a second. "The Shadow Realm is a terrible place. Your worst nightmares will come to life. Are you sure you want to do this?" Ryou's arms were shaking, but he nodded. "Yes. I will do anything to save Moonlight."he said. "Everything it will take..."

Yami read the persevearance in the eyes of the frail boy. A small smile crept on his lips. "Let's all sit down in a circle."he said. They sat down, Yami besides Ryou. "We should all hold the hand of the person sitting next to us."Yami continued. He grabbed Ryou's hand, Ryou grabbed Joey's, Joey grabbed Téa's, Téa grabbed Tristan's, Tristan grabbed Yami's. Yami looked at the people sitting there. "If we hold eachother like this we can see what Bakura is doing in Yami Bakura's soulroom. We cannot talk to him. We cannot bring him back if something goes wrong. We can only watch. Bakura has to do this all by himself."he said. He looked at Ryou. "Are you really sure you want to go on with this?" "Yes. And please do not ask me that again, or I'll start to doubt it."Ryou rather brusquely said. Yami smiled again. "Close your eyes."he said in general. Everybody closed their eyes. "Concentrate on the Millennium Ring."he said. "I will activate my Puzzle... now!"

The golden jewel began to glow. The Ring began to glow too. Ryou cried out as his soul was jerked out of his body. Yami and Joey couls feel his hands numb, but kept holding them. Ryou's soulless body fell back. His eyes were still closed, his mouth half opened.

Ryou's soul landed on his back on a warm floor made out of rocks. The impact had forced all the air out of his lungs and he had to wait before he could breathe normally again. He opened his eyes and got up. He only wore grey pants and sneakers. Something that looked like a Spellbinding Circle surrounded him. He looked around and found the door. He opened it and stepped out in the dark corridor that led to Yami Bakura's Soulroom.

When he opened the gate of Yami Bakura's Soulroom and wanted to enter something massive banged into him and threw him to the floor. Before he could say something he felt two strong hands haul him to his feet and heard the gate close again. He was a little dizzy and his eyes had gone out of focus, but when he looked at the person who had picked him up a gasp escaped him mouth. Standing in front of him was Moonlight. Moonlight looked horrible. His face had ashened, his hair was dirty and stiff and sweat ran down his muscular body. He panted like he had ran ten miles in a row. "Quickly, Ryou!"he urgently said and pushed Ryou back to his Soulroom. He shut the door.

Standing in the middle of the room was a big, heavy table with an enormous Monster World field on it. Ryou had that field in real too, in the game-room in his apartment. Moonlight began to push the table in the direction of the door, grunting as it wouldn't move easily. Ryou wanted to help him, but he felt too weak. The Spellbinding Circle that haunted him had to do something with it. Moonlight had finally barricaded the door with the table and was taking a breather against the wall. He then walked right through the Spellbinding Circle and gave Ryou a warm and sweaty hug. "I'm _so_ glad you're here, Ryou."he said. "That Yami... he keeps chasing me. I try to hide, but he finds me every time. The pain he causes me drives me crazy. I need your help. I cannot fight him."

Ryou lay a hand on Moonlight's arm. "I wish I could help you."he said. "But look. This thing... this Spellbinding Circle weakens me." Moonlight let himself fall on the floor. "It is not the Circle that weakens you, it only indicates you are weakened."he said. "I could just walk through it without getting weaker." "But what weakens me?"Ryou wanted to know. Moonlight smiled sadly. "I do."he said. "I have become a part of you. By killing me over and over again Yami Bakura weakens you, without him knowing. If I disappear part of your soul will be gone as well." Ryou looked at the circle. "But I still don't know how to help you."he said.

Moonlight got up and walked over to him. "Avatars."he said. Ryou tilted his head. "What?"he asked. The fire in Moonlight's eyes had returned. "Avatars!"he said. "I can use my dark powers to make ordinairy people hold the power of their avatar, if they have one." Ryou walked over to the Monster World field and picked a tiny doll that was standing on it up, his own avatar. "White Magic User Bakura."he said. He looked at Moonlight. "But Moonlight, White Magic User Bakura is good at defending, but his attack is not so strong. And Zork, Yami Bakura's avatar, has both strong offense _and_ defense." Moonlight looked at the little robot. "How do you design those avatars, Ryou?"he asked. Ryou played with the robes of his avatar. "When I create one I look at the inside of a person."he said. "And his or her outside. The offense, defense and special effects are stipulated that way." Moonlight had been listening with a frown on his face. He grabbed Ryou's shoulders and looked him in the eyes. "Make me an avatar."he said. "That will take time."Ryou said. "Time is a luxury we do not have." Moonlight's gaze held him imprisoned. "Draw me one."he softly said. "Just draw one." His voice sounded weary and begging. Ryou grabbed some paper and a pencil out of the air and began drawing diligently. The tip of his tongue stuck out between his lips.

A few minutes and some sheets of paper later he held a paper up. "Done!"he said. Moonlight looked at the paper he was holding. The avatar looked a lot like Moonlight, also with the razor-sharp bracelets and the long, heavy necklace. But the avatar wore a big, golden tiara with green gems in it and a ragged skirt with a red lightning running over it. His legs were just like Moonlight's plated with gold. Written underneath the avatar was "Lunar Magic User Bakura". A grin spread across Moonlight's face. "Perfect!"he said. "Lunar Magic User Bakura! Just like brothers!"

Suddenly they heard someone slam into the door. Moonlight's eyes widened. The fire in them was distinguished. "Yami Bakura!"he whispered. "Ryou, hide this picture. Yami Bakura must not find it." Ryou folded the picture up and hid it in one of the towers of the Monster World castel, the same one on which Yami Bakura had impaled his hand before. Again they could hear the Yami bang into the door.

"Listen, Ryou."Moonlight said. "I will use my magic to hide you for Yami Bakura. He will not know you are here and he won't be able to touch you either. But whatever you do: _do not move_. As soon as you move too much you will be revealed. I will try to lure Yami Bakura back into his own Soulroom, so he won't find out about you. Remember, don't move!"

Another loud "BANG" disrupted the silence. The table began to move a bit. The door opened about two inches. Ryou went to stand in a corner of the room. Moonlight muttered a spell and made a gesture with his hands. Ryou felt strange, light in the head. But that could also be caused by the Circle surrounding him.

The table was shoved out of the way and the door flew open. Yami Bakura tumbled into the room and banged into the wall. When he got up he saw Moonlight was trying to sneak out. "Oh, no, you will stay here."Yami Bakura said and made a gesture in the direction of the door. Moonlight wanted to walk right through it, but bounced off, like he had walked into a force-field. He fell on his rear end, but got up again, as fast as his exhausted body allowed him to.

Yami Bakura closed in on him. He held the knife in his hands again. "You will not go anywhere... I'll see to that."he hissed. With a quick motion he stuck the knife in Moonlight's stomach. Moonlight did not scream, only gasped. He tried to cover the wound with his hand. Golden Soulblood squirted from between his fingers. He fell onto his knees and then on his side. Ryou slapped his hands in front of his mouth, afraid to scream out. He became visible for just a second and was lucky, because Yami Bakura was not looking in his direction at that moment. The Yami had concentrated on Moonlight, who was lying on the floor, not dead at all. "Enjoy yourself, I'll be back within a few days."he said. He left and closed the door behind him.

Ryou immediately leapt up and rushed over to Moonlight. Moonlight pushed himself up until he could sit with his back against the wall. "Moonlight!"Ryou cried. "What did he do to you?!" Moonlight looked at the knife that was still stuck in his body. "He's smart."he said. "When someone is stabbed in the stomach he will die slowly, really, really slowly." Ryou gulped.

Moonlight suddenly grabbed the knife and began thugging it. Every time he pulled it a grimace flashed over his delicate face. Ryou abruptly turned away his face, afraid he would get sick. "W-what are you doing?"he swallowed. Moonlight continued thugging. "I'm... trying... to... pull... this... thing... out... of... me!"he groaned between clenched teeth. Ryou looked around. "Why?"he asked, frowning. Moonlight stopped and wiped with his hand over his forehead, accidentally staining it with blood. "This dagger stops most of the poison coming from my intestines from entering my bloodstream."he said. "That's why it takes to long. If I can pull it out the process of dying will be sped up." He began pulling the knife again, but was too weak to pull it out of his stomach. Ryou had looked away again, but suddenly felt Moonlight's hand on his arm. "Ryou, I want you to do it."the Egyptian man said.

"What? NO! I CAN'T!"Ryou cried. He backed away from the dying soul a bit. Moonlight's grip tightened around his arm. "Listen, Ryou."he urgently said. "If that thing isn't pulled out of me I'll have to suffer for up to fourty-eight hours. And let me tell you: that's no fun. It will take me at least so much time to revive again. Before four days are over Yami Bakura will be back and you will be discovered and punished. We need to protect and help each other. I _need _you to pull the dagger out of my stomach." His purple-blue eyes locked with Ryou's brown ones. Both pairs of eyes were filled with tears, the brown ones with tears of fear and the purple ones with tears of pain.

Then Ryou's trembling hands reached for the dagger and grabbed it. "Good, Ryou!"Moonlight said. The tears began to run down Ryou's cheeks. "I daren't..."he sobbed. "DO IT!"Moonlight yelled. Ryou raised his hands high above his head, thus pulling the knife out of Moonlight's tormented body.

He had been unprepared for Moonlight's reaction. Moonlight screamed in pain and began to thrash, accidentally kicking Ryou in the side. Ryou fell with his head against the wall. That was too much for his weakened soul. He bent over and began to throw up.

"Aaahh! This hurts more than I thought!"Moonlight softly cried, wrapping his arms around his stomach. He tossed and turned, trying to ease the pain. Ryou wiped his mouth and looked at the face of his friend, the eyes that were cramped shut, the white teeth that were exposed, the tiny drops of sweat that ran down Moonlight's cheeks. "My god... what have I done?"he cried. "It's all my fault!" He covered his eyes with his hands and refused look up when he felt Moonlight thug his arm. "No, Ryou!"Moonlight said. "It's not your fault! It is Yami Bakura's!" Ryou did not remove his hands and just shook no. Moonlight fell back again with a cry. "Ra, it's too much!"he cried. "Ryou, give me the dagger, please!" Ryou picked the dagger up and gave it to Moonlight.

Without warning Moonlight slipped his own throat.

"MOONLIGHT! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"Ryou screamed as Moonlight gurgled and then numbed. He slapped the Shadow Soul hard in the face. Moonlight's eyes were still open and had glazed over. Golden blood streamed over his lips and out of the wound in his throat.

Suddenly the Spellbinding Circle emitted a wave of energy that made Ryou cringe and made his heart skip a beat. Moonlight had been killed, Ryou was been weakened because of that. He fell with his chin on Moonlight's strong arm. He did not feel like getting up. He began crying. He had completely forgotten Moonlight would be revived again.

"_Hey Bakura! That guy will come back alive again, you know!"Joey shouted, forgetting Ryou could not hear him. "He can't hear you, Joey."Yami said. "But Moonlight Bakura will come back alive soon and then they can execute their plans."_

Ryou had been lying on Moonlight's arm for about half an hour when he suddenly felt something move. Something that pulsed. He leaned on his arms and slowly got up. He palmed Moonlight's chest. A heartbeat. Moonlight was alive. He uttered a deep sigh of relief. Moonlight stirred and woke up. The wounds were gone. He looked at Ryou's relieved face and smiled. He got up and stretched his back. He still looked terrible, paler than usual, dirt in his hair, his once pure white skirt grey. "Good, Ryou."he came straight to the point. "The avatars. Where did you hide the drawing again?" Ryou took the sheet of paper out of the tower. He gave it to Moonlight.

"Okay."Moonlight said. "In order to execute our plan we'll have to go to Yami Bakura's Soulroom." Ryou's back stiffened. "Do we have to?"he asked. Moonlight nodded. "It may sound weird, but the power of the Shadow Realm will help us get the powers of the avatars."he said. "Do you've got you avatar with you? Good. Let's go." He opened the door and went into the corridor. Ryou followed him and closed the door again. Moonlight walked over to Yami Bakura's gate. He grabbed a big ring that was attached to it and pulled it with all his might. When the door was open his face was almost purple and he panted a bit. The two souls went inside. Yami Bakura was nowhere to be seen.

"Here we go."Moonlight said. He crossed his fists in front of his face. He closed his eyes and mumbled something Ryou could not hear. His bracelets began to glow. A bright, blue light was emanated from his heart. It enveloped Ryou and himself. It was sucked into Ryou's chest. Ryou moaned and dropped White Magic User Bakura. It felt like his head and chest were exploding. He heard Moonlight groan too.

Suddenly something jumped right into the blue light. Something that yelled. Something with a voice lower and harsher than Ryou's and Moonlight's.

The light died out. Ryou's left knee collapsed and he almost fell. He looked at Moonlight, who was pressing a hand against his chest and coughed. Moonlight was wearing a tiara on his head, a ragged skirt with a red flash of lightning on it and his bracelets were longer and sharper than before. He was wearing Lunar Magic User Bakura's clothing. Moonlight looked at Ryou. Ryou was wearing long, pure-white robes with yellow ankhs on them. He was wearing a long, pointy, white cap, also with a yellow ankh on it and he held an ankh-shaped rod in his right hand. The Spellbinding Circle was still hovering around him. "It worked!"Moonlight said. He looked at Ryou, but Ryou was not looking at him. Ryou looked at something at Moonlight's right. Moonlight followed his gaze and could not suppress a small cry when he saw what Ryou was looking at.

Standing at his right was a dragon-man. Yami Bakura had gotten Zork's powers. His eyes were yellow and his face had a grey color. His hair was still white and devlish. His mouth was full of sharp teeth. All of his clothes were torn. His hands had turned into claws. His chest was still thin, but muscular. He had a long tail with sharp spikes. Wings were attached to his back. He opened his mouth and roared Moonlight upside-down. Ryou looked like he could faint any minute. Moonlight grabbed Ryou's arm, used his Lunar-powers to blind Zork-Yami Bakura and ran away. They hid behind a few dried out bushes.

Ryou pointed a weak finger at the dragon-man. "Zork."he said. He looked like he wanted to throw up again and almost did so, but Moonlight shook him. "There's no time to be afraid, Ryou!"he said, the ancient warrior inside him showing up again. "We _must_ beat him! There's no time!"

Huh-huh, pretty freaky

* * *

, a Dragon-Yami.

I'm not in the mood for an after-story.

Sayonara and please review.


	4. MOONLIGHT!

I'm sorry for not having updated for such a long time. I've been really busy with school...

I've got Medabots-Metabee version at home and it is a fun game! But really hard to play. I've got every available Medapart exept two, the head of Mega-Emperor and a "break-arm". I've got two complete Sumilidons. Sumilidon is my favorite Medabot, our Dutch Sumulidon's got Ryou's voice... And he's cute with those little ears on his head.

Hey, Mikazui, did you change your nickname? It's a lot cooler now!

Ryou: This is weird! (trips over his robes and falls) Ow!

Ryou-Ran: (to Moonlight) A dragon-Yami can be quite practical.

Moonlight: Oh yes? How?

Ryou-Ran: Let me show you. (grabs a candle) Hey, Yami, can you exhale above this candle, please?

Yami Bakura: Sure. (breathes out a big flame)

Candle: (is been lit)

Ryou-Ran: See?

Moonlight: --" Ah.

Ryou: I've got to pee!

Ryou-Ran: Then go take a leak!

Ryou: I can't! I'm stuck in my robes!

Ryou-Ran: --"

Yami Bakura: Ah-ah-ah!

Moonlight: (snarls) Oh how _funny_!

Ryou-Ran: (goes to help Ryou)

Ryou: Thank! (dashes away)

Ryou-Ran: Boys... Who's going to do the discl- ?

Moonlight & Yami Bakura: (leer at her)

Ryou-Ran: What's the big deal?

Moonlight: We are boys.

Yami Bakura: Yeah.

Ryou-Ran: Oh, sorry! (giggle) I'll do it myself. Ahum:

Disclaimer: Ryou-Ran does not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

MOONLIGHT!

"_Okay, Ryou. Calm down._"Ryou thought. _"There's nothing to worry about. Yami Bakura has turned into a dragon, Moonlight is slowly going crazy and I'm wearing a dress, but everything is alright, huh? MY GOD! THIS IS NOT RIGHT! I'M GOING MAD!_" He cramped his eyes shut and a new wave of nausea hit him again, but Moonlight suddenly slapped him hard in the face. "Thank you, Moonlight."Ryou said, reeling a bit. "I needed that."

Yami Bakura was looking for them. He used the Millennium Ring, which led him in the right direction. He saw something white stick up behind the bushes that looked like ears. He fired a big bolt of fire from his mouth and made the bush scorch. It revealed Moonlight and Ryou. The white things he had seen were the white plucks of hair on the back of Moonlight's head that stuck up like the ears of a cat. Moonlight's whole body reminded everybody who saw him of a lion.

"Any plans?"Ryou asked. "Now it's the time." "Yes. ATTACK!"Moonlight shouted. Ryou pointed his rod at Yami Bakura and muttered a spell, but his relatively weak attack only made the dragon-Yami stand back. Moonlight's attack, on the other hand, made him reel. Yami Bakura hissed and launched an attack of his own. Both Ryou and Moonlight were hit by balls of dark energy. Moonlight was thrown to the floor and landed with his nose in a plant, but Ryou had just in time raised his rod and had used it as a buffer for Yami Bakura's attack. Most of the dark energy had been absorbed by it. Moonlight got up and was glad to see Ryou was still on his feet. "I see my defense isn't as high as yours."he said. Ryou held his rod tightly and kept looking at his Yami. "Yes, but your attack is higher."he said. "The problem is that Yami Bakura will probably try to destroy _you_ first, because you are more dangerous to him than me."

Yami Bakura ran forward, one of his claws raised, to hit either one of the Bakuras standing in front of him. "Ra, no!"Ryou could hear Moonlight utter. He was scared. One lash from Yami Bakura's claws would cut right through skin, flesh and bone. Ryou was scared too. He folded himself up to a ball, without knowing he had just activated one of his avatar's special abilities. Yami Bakura's claw collided with a force-field that sent electricity through his arm and made him retreat it with a cry. He looked at his hand in surprise and lashed out at the two boys again. Again he felt a sharp pain go through his arm.

"Good, Ryou!"Moonlight shouted for probably the tenth time. Ryou looked up, confused. "Have I done anything?"he asked rather sheepishly. Moonlight looked at the bubble of energy that surrounded them. Ryou saw it came from his rod. "Oh."he said. "Uhh... I did not know I could do that." Yami Bakura grinded his sharp teeth and knew he could not attack as long as Ryou's shield was protecting them.

But the shield began to weaken. When it was gone Yami Bakura tried to attack, but the two Bakuras scattered like mice and all his claw hit was dust. The next moment Moonlight was sitting on his back and thrusted his bracelet in the shoulder of the dragon-Yami. Blue blood came out of the wound and dripped on Moonlight's leg. Moonlight sent his moon-powers through Yami Bakura's scaled body, but the next moment his leg began to sting so badly that he grabbed at it and accidentally pulled his bracelet out of Yami Bakura's shoulder. Ryou, who was standing too near, got a tail in the face. The three souls walked or stumbled away from each other and in the case of Moonlight and Ryou, regrouped.

"I think this is going to be a looooong battle."Ryou, whose nose was swollen, said. Moonlight rubbed his leg. The stinging sensation had gone. "I don't know how to beat him quickly."he said. They saw Yami Bakura was trying to lick the blood from his shoulder. "What should we do?"Ryou asked. Moonlight cleaned his bracelet with sand. "Just attack and see what'll happen."he said.

"Hey, today!"Yami Bakura bellowed. He picked his teeth with his long nails. His tail drew traces through the grey sand. "Learn to have a little pati-"Moonlight shouted back, but Ryou quickly slapped his hands in front of the mouth of the angry Shadow Soul. "Shh! You don't want to know how dangerous my Yami gets when he's angry."he hissed. "And don't lose your head!" Moonlight looked at him dumbfounded. "Huh?"he asked. "My head is stuck to my neck! It's hard to lose it, you know." Ryou covered his face with his hand. "It's just an expression! Losing your head means that you're going crazy!"he snapped.

A guffaw came from the other side. Yami Bakura had heard them and had broken into laughter. Moonlight threw furious looks at him and, much to Ryou's shock, rushed forward. The dragon-Yami did not know the Shadow Soul had launched an attack, until he felt Moonlight's fist collide with his cheek. A blue flash lit up where Moonlight had hit him and died out again. Yami Bakura rolled over the ground and landed with his face in the sand. Moonlight landed on his feet (his own) and rubbed his knuckles. His fist was glowing faintly. "Well done, Moonlight!"Ryou shouted, jumping up and down. "But never shock me like that again!"

Yami Bakura tried to get up again, but immediately Moonlight was at his side to kick him down again. Yami Bakura grunted. When he looked up he saw Moonlight's face. Moonlight's eyes had narrowed. His pupils had the shape of those of cats. His canine teeth had grown out to fangs. His hair was like the ears and mane of a lion. All that was missing was the tail.

Yami Bakura bent his back and suddenly emitted a wave of pure evilness that sent Moonlight flying. Moonlight landed on hands and feet behind Ryou. Yami Bakura flew in the direction of the frozen boy, one claw raised.

"NO, RYOU!"Moonlight screamed. Yami Bakura lashed out at the soul of his other half and hit his throat. Ryou tried to cry out, but his throat was shredded by the sharp nails of the evil Yami. His hands went to his throat and only felt a bloody mess. He collapsed and fell onto his back. Lots of blood gushed out of the wound and stained his robes gold. Yami Bakura cackled to himself and walked away.

Moonlight rushed over to Ryou and took Ryou's head in his hands. Ryou's eyes were open. He looked at Moonlight. He was still alive. Moonlight carefully lay Ryou's head in his lap. "Ryou, you won't understand right now..."he said to the dying boy and raised his bracelet. Ryou's eyes widened in shock. "But later you will be grateful." With those words he plunged the pointy end in Ryou's chest. A convulsion went through Ryou's frail body. His eyes glazed over. His hands fell on Moonlight's thighs. The Spellbinding Circle shimmered and died out.

"_**BAKURA!**"Joey shouted. "**That Egyptian idiot killed him! Our friend!**" "No, Joey."Yami said. "Remember what Moonlight said about a Shadow Soul killing someone?" Joey remembered. "_If Shadow Soul kill he can bring back_."Moonlight had said in broken Japanese. "He saved Bakura-Kun."Yami said. "He did not kill him, but saved him."_

"What the hell..."Yami Bakura uttered when he saw Moonlight kill Ryou. "Hey, you! That wasn't supposed to happen!" Moonlight ignored him, but lay his hands on Ryou's chest. He closed his eyes and focussed on the heart of his friend. He used his Dark Powers to revive Ryou again. The wound in Ryou's throat disappeared. The blood flowed back into it before it vanished. The Spellbinding Circle reappeared. Ryou opened his eyes and looked at Moonlight. Moonlight looked at him with a worried look on his Egyptian face. "Try not to move, Ryou."he said. "Do you remember what happened the last time I resurrected you?" "Yes..."Ryou said. "It hurt. Badly." Moonlight nodded. "So stay there and I'll defend you."he more or less commanded and went to stand in front of him.

Yami Bakura grumbled something unintelligible. He was angry. A bit of smoke came out of his nostrils and billowed above his head. He saw Moonlight standing in front of his Yadonushi and knew Ryou was powerless. Moonlight's attack was strong, so he had to watch out for that. But Moonlight's defense was weak. Yami Bakura would be able to beat him with just one, powerful blow.

The next moment a big black bolt flew into Moonlight's direction and just missed him. It hit the floor not too far away from Ryou. Ryou made a shocked move and immediately screamed in pain. The sound of him screaming made Moonlight boil over. The color returned to his face. His hair got it's usual white color again. The biggest gem in the middle of his tiara began to glow, just like his bracelets and his eyes. He combined his avatar's moon-powers with his own Dark Powers. He crossed his fists in front of his face.

"Oh, _damn_!"Yami Bakura squeacked. Something more intelligent wouldn't come over his lips. Moonlight released his powers. They hit Yami Bakura right on the chest.

Yami Bakura was sent flying. He cried out in pain and shock. When he hit the floor his tail made him roll a few meters further until he banged into a big boulder. There he lay, completely still.

"_Great!"Tristan shouted. "They destroyed him!" Yami, on the other hand, frowned. His instinct told him something else._

"We've got 'm!"Moonlight cried. He almost began dancing, but then he saw Ryou raise a finger, even though that minor motion hurt him badly. "No... there..."he moaned. Moonlight looked in the direction Ryou pointed at. His heart skipped a beat. At the rock he saw something move.

Yami Bakura had not been destroyed. He leaned on hands and knees. There was a strange crack in his tail. It was broken. The dragon-Yami grabbed the rock for support and hauled himself to his feet. He had a big burn on his chest. Some of the scales on his arms and legs had fallen off. His face was undamaged. His wings were alright. His legs hurt too much to walk, so he just decided to fly. He unfolded his big wings and ascended.

"Ah, noooo..."Moonlight groaned when he saw the Yami fly high above them. Ryou cried softly. The pain was killing him.

Suddenly red sparks rained down around them. One of them hit Ryou's sleeve, that began to burn. In a reflex Ryou spat at the little fire and extinguished it that way. Yami Bakura was smart. The two lost souls were surrounded by bushes. He set all the bushes alight, making sure they would not get out. "We're stuck in here!"Ryou cried. "We'll burn!" "Don't be so negative!"Moonlight said. He went to a bush that was not burning so badly and pulled his skirt up a bit. "Heh?"Ryou uttered when he saw what Moonlight was going to do. "Oh my _goodness_!" Yami Bakura looked down and almost fell out of the sky. Moonlight was peeing on the bush to extinguish the fire.

"_Oh... that's another way."Tristan said when he saw Moonlight busy. Téa couldn't help giggling,even though her friend was in danger. "Did every Egyptian distinguish his fire that way, Yami?"Joey asked. Yami turned red. "No."he brusquely said._

The fire in the bush had died out. Moonlight picked Ryou up and carried him through. "Say, did you wash your hands?"Ryou asked. Moonlight angrily chewed on his lower-lip. "Just be glad I found a way out."he snarled. A thundering laughter came down from above. Yami Bakura was completely cracking up. He spun around and around in the sky of fun. Moonlight looked up at him and lay Ryou down. He fired a white ball at Yami Bakura, who easily dodged it. "Hoh! Try the best you can!"the dragon-Yami shouted. He let himself fall and was right in front of Moonlight within less than a second. He filled his hand with black fire and then thrusted it in Moonlight's chest.

Moonlight's chin was slammed on his chest. He cried out. Ryou watched in horror as he fell onto his back. Moonlight moaned. His chest was covered with severe burns. His necklace was swimming in a pool of body-fluids. His ribs were visible to Ryou and his Yami. Ryou pressed his hands against his mouth and felt the urge to vomit again, but his stomach was empty. Yami Bakura watched him. "Don't be pathetic, Yadonushi!"he snarled. "I have seen much worse things!"

Moonlight laboriously sat up. He knew he could not handle another attack like that. He looked at Yami Bakura. The dragon-Yami did not look good either, with his broken tail, charred chest and quite a lot of scales missing. The Shadow Soul looked at Ryou too. Ryou's forehead was covered with sweat. His cheeks were red. He was in so much pain that he could hardly move.

Moonlight saw Yami Bakura raise his claw to kill Ryou's soul again. Ryou could not move. Moonlight was too slow to reach him and too weak to attack Yami Bakura. He saw the fear in Ryou's brown eyes. He saw the cold look of contempt in Yami Bakura's eyes. He saw the sharp claws, wanting to slice through Ryou's flesh.

Everything became red in front of Moonlight's eyes. The sight of Yami Bakura grinning and Ryou opening his mouth to cry for help spun around in his head. _He_, Moonlight Bakura, had called Ryou. _He_ had needed Ryou's help. And now Ryou's soul was going to be killed because of _him_. Moonlight's head felt like it was going to explode. His tiara broke in two. He lost the powers of his avatar. The thing he had feared was now going to happen.

Moonlight lost his mind.

* * *

Moonlight: Grr! People always make a fool out of me!

Ryou-Ran: Hush, Moonlight. Nobody made a fool out of you. You just went insane.

Moonlight: TT

Ryou-Ran: Sorry, Moonlight! I didn't mean that!

Moonlight: Sniff... Boohoo! You're all so mean!

Yami Bakura: OO"

Ryou: Oh my God...

Ryou-Ran: Sssh, don't cry, Mooonlight.

Moonlight: BWAAAHAAAAH!

Ryou: --"

Ryou-Ran: Quickly, Ryou. How do you cheer an ancient Egyptian Shadow Soul up again?

Ryou: OO How should I know?

Ryou-Ran: He lives inside you, remember?

Ryou: Give him chocolates?

Ryou-Ran: Do you think that will cheer him up?

Ryou: I don't know... But it always cheers me up!

Ryou-Ran: --" Perhaps we should try out.

Moonlight: Sob... Please review! Snurrrrrrrf!


	5. Sanity and Serenity

Suspense, ha ha! Uhm (caugh) I'm sorry.

To fast-talking Johnny: Your reviews aren't boring at all, they're fun! Heh heh. You know; the last time I have worn a dress (I'm a girl too) was seriously eleven years ago, when I was seven years old. Since then I've only worn pants and a skirt twice a year (the skirt). Uhhh... dresses are so unpractical... especially when you like to read a book upside-down in a chair. Who does that? Well, I like doing that. When you wear a dress then... you know.

Oops... I'm wearing my pants with a tearing in the knees today... my Dad is going to freak out when he hears I've worn that thing in school too!

My laptop is broken... now it shows the letters in all the colors of the rainbow in stead of the usual black. Kind of cheerful, but it gives you a head-ache at the long terms.

Moonlight: Snf... It's unfair! Why do I have to suffer?

Ryou-Ran: 'Cause you're a Bakura.

Moonlight: ?

Ryou-Ran: All Bakuras suffer once in a while.

Moonlight: I'm going to change my name! (heads for the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages)

Ryou: Moonlight! You'll have to be able to write in order to change your name!

Moonlight: I... I can't write... (breaks down and cries)

Ryou-Ran: My poor Moonlight... (hugs Moonlight)

Ryou: C'est la vie.

Ryou-Ran: You can say that again.

Ryou: C'est la vie.

Yami Bakura: Wow! Deja vu!

Ryou-Ran: --" That was not supposed to be taken litterally.

Ryou: Oh.

Moonlight: I'M PITYFUL! WAAAAAAH! (anime-fountain of tears)

Ryou-Ran: Soon the house will overflow.

Yami Bakura: Cool! Then we can use my Hikari for a surfing-board!

Ryou: OO" Why?

Yami Bakura: You're thin enough.

Ryou: --"

Ryou-Ran: Okay, who's going to do the disclaimer?

Moonlight: Sob... Ryou-Ran does not own Yu-Gi-Oh! Splutter... RRFFTT!

Ryou-Ran: --" You just blew your nose in my hair.

Moonlight: Sorry.

Sanity and serenity

Yami Bakura brought his claw down. Ryou cringed and tried to protect his face with his hands, but was surprised to see Yami Bakura's hand stopped just a few inches away from his face. Yami Bakura was looking at Moonlight. Ryou followed his gaze. When he saw Moonlight his heart sunk into his feet.

Moonlight was standing before them with his legs wide, laughing like mad. His usually calm eyes were bloodshot. The pupils were small, almost invisible. Foam came from the corners of his mouth and ran down his neck. His hands were forced into claws. Suddenly, without warning, he leapt forward and hit Yami Bakura's face with his sharp bracelets. Yami Bakura grabbed at his face. His tail and wings disappeared. His scales vanished too. He turned back into himself again. Golden blood oozed from the cuts in his face.

Moonlight threw himself on the Yami again and began to punch him everywhere he could hit him. All the time he had an insane grin on his face, a grin that made even Yami Bakura scared. Yami Bakura tried to protect his face with his arms, but witha quick motion of his fingers Moonligt broke them. He hit Yami Bakura's temple with his fist and watched as the Yami slid over the ground and stopped, face in the sand. He did not move.

Moonlight spun around and saw Ryou. His grin widened. He went over to Ryou, who tried to crawl away from him, but could hardly move. Ryou's eyes were filled with fear. "Please, Moonlight!"he pleaded. "It's me, Ryou! We're friends, remember?" Moonlight was irritated by him and roared like a lion. He raised his hand, ready to plunge his bracelet in Ryou's chest again. But now he would not bring him back. Ryou closed his eyes and waited.

"_No! He's going to kill Bakura-San!"Téa cried. "Our friend!" Yami was frozen. After all Ryou had done the Shadow Soul had become insane. "It may sound cruel, but let us hope this ends... Moonlight ends before he gets the opportunity to kill Bakura-Kun."he said._

Moonlight wanted to bring the bracelet down, but froze. His eyes were opened widely and his teeth were exposed. His body began to tremble. A sigh escaped his mouth, together with a thin golden mist. His eyes turned away. He fell face-first on top of Ryou. Ryou's Spellbinding Circle emitted a bright light.

Ryou cried in pain. He felt Moonlight's heavy weight on his chest. He thought he was dying, that the heavy sensation meant his heart stopped beating. But then he felt something rustle against his cheek. When he opened his eyes he saw something white. He brushed it away and saw it was hair. It was not his own. When he looked at his right he looked right in Moonlight's face. Moonlight's eyes were closed and a bit of golden blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. Ryou could not feel his breath. Moonlight was dead. For good. He had gone insane and had lost his soul in order to save the other souls present. Ryou leapt up, able again to move freely, and cried out in sadness.

Yami Bakura groaned, but did not wake up. Ryou looked at Moonlight's face. He could not believe that same face had looked so insane just moments before. Moonlight's face looked serene as ever. Ryou writhed and began to cry with his head on his knees.

But without knowing he activated the most special ability of his avatar. The blunt end of his rod began to glow. Ryou stretched his back with a start. The expression on his face changed completely. His face had been a mask of sadness, but now it displayed the same look it had had when Ryou's soul had ended up inside the Change of Heart. His eyes were dreamy and he had a vague smile on his face.

Yami Bakura woke up. He saw Moonlight lying in the sand and knew what had happened. He wanted to get up, but everything hurt like hell. His gaze shifted to Ryou. A shocked "No!" came over his lips when he saw what Ryou was going to do.

Ryou squatted on the floor. His face showed an expression of pure concentration. Then he launched himself in the air, raised his rod, shouted an Egyptian spell and brought the rod down. A brilliant, golden flash came out of it and hit Moonlight. Yami Bakura uttered a shocked cry.

Ryou fell down from the sky and slumped in a heap on the floor. His robes vanished. He lost the powers of his avatar. He was barely able to tilt his head, but he tried to and looked at Moonlight.

He saw Moonlight's chest going up. The man was still enveloped by the golden light. The wounds on his chest disappeared. Moonlight groaned, winced and opened his eyes. They were purple-blue, normal. He sat up and rubbed his forehead. Then he saw Ryou. "Ryou!"he shouted and rushed over to him. He slapped an arm around the weak Ryou and helped him sit up. "Ryou, are you alright?"he asked. Ryou looked at him. Moonlight's cheeks were round and copper-colored. His hair was as white as snow. His eyes were clear. He looked stronger and healthier than ever. A small smile crept on Ryou's lips. "I'm fine."he weakly said. "Because you are alive." Moonlight smiled at him, but then his gaze shifted from Ryou to Yami Bakura. He clenched his jaw. The look in his eyes became as cold as ice. Ryou could feel the muscles of the Shadow Soul tremble, full of restricted power, that wanted to be unleashed.

Moonlight carefully lay Ryou down and got up. He slowly walked over to the fallen Yami. His fists were clenched. Yami Bakura tried to crawl away from him, but his arms were powerless. Moonlight stopped right in front of him. Thick veins ran over his arms. He bent over, grabbed Yami Bakura by the throat and brought the face of the Yami close to his. "Don't even think of hurting Ryou; my son."he hissed. He had the same cold look in his eyes Yami Bakura could have too. Yami Bakura gasped. His lips began to turn blue. Moonlight released him, but before Yami Bakura hit the floor he gave the evil Spirit of the Ring a punch in the face. Yami Bakura uttered a long cry and rolled over the ground. Over and over his tormented arms hit rocks and sharp pieces of dead wood. When he had stopped he was still awake. Moonlight walked over to him again. Without a word he plunged his bracelet in Yami Bakura's thin chest.

The bracelet shattered Yami Bakura's ribs, cut through lung-tissue and hit the undead heart.

Yami Bakura gasped again. His feet kicked against Moonlight's legs, but he could as well have kicked against an oak-tree. Moonlight watched as the soul of the Yami died. When he walked back to Ryou Yami Bakura's eyes were closed and blood was running down his chest.

"_Yeeeeaaaaah!"Joey shouted. "They did it!" Yami smiled. With a litle help from their avatars the two souls had managed to beat the evil Yami. Moonlight was saved and could return to his Shadow Soulroom in Ryou's mind._

Moonlight picked Ryou up. He threw a tender look on the exhausted boy. "Moonlight?"Ryou softly said. "You did it, didn't you?" Moonlight shook no. "We did it together."he said. "If you hadn't come here I would have been dead for sure." Ryou took a last look at the Yami. "We beat him together."he said, like convincing himself. "Yes."Moonlight said, from the bottom of his heart. "_We_ did it." He began the walk back to the exit of Yami Bakura's soulroom with the soul of his descendant in his strong arms.

A little later they entered Ryou's Soulroom. Moonlight lay Ryou down on the floor and the next moment Yami was standing in front of him. Moonlight was shocked to death and immediately fell onto his knees. "Oh... Hello, my Pharaoh."he stuttered. He bowed his head, cheeks burning. Yami mentally sighed. He always felt uneasy when people or spirits fell on their knees in front of him. "Hi, Yami."Ryou gave a much less informal greeting. He did not bow, but just waved at Yami. Yami smiled at him, but then he looked at Moonlight, a little embarrassed. The Shadow Soul was still lying in front of him. Yami grabbed his shoulder and tried to pull the way too heavy Moonlight up. "Moonlight Bakura, you do not need to bow for me."he said when it didn't work. Moonlight looked up with a look of almost slimy devotion on his face that made Ryou burst into laughter. "Come on, get up."Yami told Moonlight. Moonlight stood. Yami looked in his face. The Shadow Soul shily looked away. He looked incredibly much like the usually shy Ryou, who was now completely cracking up. Yami grabbed Moonlight's chin and made the Shadow Soul look in his face. "Remember everyone is equal, Moonlight."he said. His pink-purple eyes locked with Moonlight's purple-blue ones. "I'm not better than you." A happy grin spread across Moonlight's face. "Always at your service, my Pharaoh."he said. Yami shook no. "No. I will always be at yours."he said. And much to Moonlight's shock he knelt down in front of the Shadow Soul. Moonlight gave Ryou a look of pure anxiety. Ryou, who had just calmed down a bit, got weak of laughter so badly that he got a hiccup.

Suddenly the door was slammed open. Yami looked up. Moonlight looked at the person standing in the door and gasped. Ryou's hiccup was immediately over.

"Hey, a marriage?"Yami Bakura shouted, looking at Yami, who was still on his knees in front of Moonlight. "Why haven't I been invited?" He stood there arrogantly, with one arm wrapped around his chest. He was in pain. Yami Bakura was dangerous when he was in pain. Moonlight quickly hauled Yami to his feet. Ryou got up. "Ryou, here we go."Moonlight said. More words weren't neccesary. Ryou simply nodded. Moonlight spread his arms. A blue ball of light enveloped him and Ryou. When the light vanished they had once again absorbed the powers of their avatars. Ryou raised his rod. Moonlight strained his muscles. Yami's hands formed a circle around the Millennium Puzzle.

"Huh... AAAH NOOO!"Yami Bakura cried, and activated his Millennium Ring. At that moment Yami sent out a Mindcrusher. Ryou pointed his rod at the evil Yami. A thick, blue beam came from it. Yami Bakura made a shield that absorbed most of the attacks, but with the rays came something else. The last thing he saw was Moonlight, fist raised, a look of pure hatred on his face, shouting a battle-cry. Then Moonlight's fist hit his chin, a blinding flash of light surrounded him and he fell into oblivion.

The Yami was blown back into his Soulroom and the door was slammed shut. The three souls inside Ryou's Soulroom slapped hands. "Yeah!"Moonlight and Ryou shouted. Yami smiled. "I think it is time for me to return to my own Soulroom."Moonlight said. He rubbed his knuckles. He had put so much power in the blow that they had burst. Ryou grabbed Moonlight's hand. He covered it with his own, slender hand. When he retreated it again Moonlight's hand had healed. "You should go back."he said. "It is not safe here." Yami and Moonlight exchanged sad glances. The soul of their friend lived in a dangerous place. Moonlight slapped his arms around the skinny boy and hugged him tightly. "I know."he said with his nose in Ryou's hair. They were both as tall, but Ryou looked like a frail twig, while Moonlight looked like a big tree. Their faces were, exept for the scar on Moonlight's cheek, identical. Moonlight held Ryou at arm-length. "Thank you, Ryou."he said. "I'll forever be a part of your soul." Ryou smiled. Then Moonlight went over to Yami. He bowed for Yami, but spoiled the moment when his tiara clattered to the floor. Ryou began to giggle as Moonlight picked the thing up, with a red head of embarrassement. Yami was amused. Moonlight made an almost indifferent gesture with his hand and the tiara vanished, together with the other pieces of avatar-clothing he and Ryou were wearing. He turned to Yami again, who had a grin as wide as the Ganges on his face. The bowed for each other... and banged their heads. "Ow!"they chorussed. Ryou wrapped his arms around his stomach and collapsed. He really lost it.

"Uhmmm... perhaps I should go, before more accidents happen."Moonlight said, involuntarily looking at the ceiling to check if there were any rocks loose. Ryou had finally stopped laughing and leaned on Yami's shoulder. Moonlight walked over to one of the walls of Ryou's Soulroom. The wall became a big vortex that sucked him in. Before he vanished completely he waved at Ryou and Yami.

"I wonder how Moonlight's Soulroom looks like."Ryou said, after a few moments of silence. Yami walked over to one of the walls. "This is your soul."he said. "You can take a look." Ryou walked over to the wall. "How?"he asked. Yami lay a hand on Ryou's thin shoulder. "If you really want it it will happen all by itself."he said. Ryou touched the wall with his hand. He saw the rocks became transparant. Behind the wall was another Soulroom. It was dark. The floor was covered with sand and soft grass. Moonlight was sleeping peacefully in the grass, underneath a blanket of shadows. Lying besides him were the necklace, his shoes and the golden rings his legs had been plated with. Clenched between his fingers was a sheet of paper. A small gust of wind made his hair billow and blew the paper out of his hand and into the wall.

The paper came right through. Ryou caught it. It was the picture of Lunar Magic User Bakura he had drawn before. Ryou looked at the paper, folded it so that it could stand upright and placed it on the Monster World field, besides White magic User Bakura. White Magic User Bakura and Lunar Magic User Bakura were standing besides each other like brothers.

Yami took Ryou's arm. The other wall of the room became some kind of window. Ryou saw the small circle of people, saw himself and Yami lying flat on their backs while the others held their hands. "Let's go."Yami said. Ryou nodded. Together they walked right through the wall.

The Ring and the Puzzle both emitted a bright light. Yami got up immediately, but Ryou took longer to wake up. He fluttered his eyelids and sighed. Tristan gently slapped him on the cheeks. "Wake up, Bakura-Kun."he said. Ryou opened his eyes and looked at the circle of faces above him. He sat up. A happy smile appeared on his face. "Moonlight is saved!"he said. The others patted him on the back and Téa even kissed him on the cheek, making the shy boy blush. "Well done!"Yami said. "You're a hero!"Joey bellowed.

About fifteen minutes later they had cleaned up the mess Ryou had made. Ryou was on the couch nodding off. His chin fell on his chest, but he immediately raised his head again. He could barely keep his eyes open. "You should sleep, Bakura-Kun."Yugi said. Ryou promptly fell onto his side. When Yugi had come over to him he had fallen deeply asleep. Téa covered him with a blanket and agreed to stay with him. They would not let him sleep alone yet.

The next morning Ryou was confused when he heard someone rumble around in the room next to the room in which he had fallen asleep. He sat up and grabbed a heavy book. The person he had heard walked near the doorstep and came in.

"Téa?"Ryou asked. "What are you doing here?" Téa came in with two glasses of milk in her hands and sat down besides him. "We thought one of us should stay with you while you slept."she said. "Just in case." She gave Ryou one of the glasses. Ryou began drinking eagerly. "Thank you."he said. He had slept a lot, but still felt weak. Nevertheless he was happy. Moonlight was saved. For a few minutes Ryou had been afraid he would lose him, but the Shadow Soul had come back alive, thanks to him and White Magic User Bakura.

Téa left to the kitchen. When she came back she saw Ryou had fallen asleep again, with a sheet of paper lying on his chest. When Téa picked it up she saw it was a picture of Lunar Magic User Bakura.

* * *

_The End._

Too bad... no Bakura in the movie. Whatever. I've still got Shark Tale Haaiensnaaier. That's Ryou76.

In the Netherlands YGO has been outlawed again. They suddenly showed two (boring) episodes here and then stopped again. Luckily there's still Beyblade, with Ryou12 as Kai. Yes, I've numbered all of them. I just saw Ryou31 and Ryou74. There really are about eightty Ryous here.

Ryou-Ran: But you're my favorite Ryou, Ryou. (hugs Ryou)

Ryou: (big smile)

Ryou-Ran: And now I'm going to wash my hair. Moonlight blew his nose in it.

Moonlight: Hey Ryou, guess what!

Ryou: Well?

Moonlight: I'm sane again! Yipee!

Ryou: --"

Please review.


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